NFLPA to vote to determine if Smith will remain director without opposition

The NFLPA is scheduled to vote by October 15 to determine whether to extend executive director DeMaurice Smith's term without facing opposition from external candidates, according to provisions obtained by Mark Maske of The Washington Post.

A set of election procedures previously unbeknownst to the public stipulate that a 14-member selection committee - and potentially a 32-member board of player representatives - could decide whether to extend Smith's term without him facing an election against any opposition candidates.

Smith has served as the NFLPA's executive director since being unanimously elected in March 2009. However, attorney Cyrus Mehri is lobbying against Smith, vying for his position while believing that he misled the players about a prospective March 2018 election - the same month Smith's current term is slated to expire.

"De Smith has given the vast majority of NFL players and the public at large the false impression that the election is in March of 2018," Mehri said to the Post. "Meanwhile, he devised a scheme with a virtually secret and unobtainable constitution to prevent any election at all."

Mehri believes that players are currently being deprived of a fair system and that Smith is unilaterally hording power.

"It is ironic in a league where players have to compete every single day that De Smith is afraid of competition," Mehri said. "NFL players deserve better. . . . We will not let him get away with this. Players deserve choices. We are going to fight every day to advance player voices and choices. To be the (executive director of the NFLPA is a privilege that should be earned every three years in broad daylight. The stakes are too high to deprive NFL players of an opportunity to evaluate the candidates after a full debate."

The NFLPA has yet to offer formal comment on this development.

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